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THE judges of “American Idol” returned to New York only to find the contestants weren’t New Yorkers.

“There were people from all over: Texas, Florida, Georgia,” said Randy Jackson, one of the famed triumvirate.

“One contestant from New Jersey even said something about the tri-state area.

But where are the New Yorkers?” As hundreds of contestants passed before Jackson, Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, for their shot at stardom, the stars were showing few signs of wear. There were some songs, though, that they had heard enough.

“Alicia Keys’ ‘Falling,’ ‘Crazy’ [by] Patsy Cline, just about anything by Celine Dion,” according to Cowell.

He was prepared to rattle off more before Randy interrupted with “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston.

Abdul came prepared this year to deal with the rigors of the weaning process.

“Sitting next to Simon is easier because I brought ear plugs,” she said.

And no one had given anyone “the finger,” she added cheerily.

So, had they found the next Idol in this round’s hopefuls?

“We’ve seen some good, and we’ve seen some bad, but we haven’t yet seen great,” said guest judge and Broadway songwriter Carole Bayer Sager.